Letter blank and envelope



UNITED STATES Pn'rnn'r Orrrcn.

ARTHUR OOX, OF TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA.

LETTER BLANK AND ENVELOPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 369,274, dated August 30, 1887.

Application filed March 24, 1887. Serial No. 232,324. (No model.) Patented in Canada April 4, 1887, No. 26,357; in England April 19, 1887, No. 5,653, and in Belgium April 30, 1887. No. 77,127. i

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ARTHUR Cox, of the city of Toronto, in the county of York, in the Province of Ontario, Canada, gentleman, have invented a certain new and useful Improved Letter Blank and Envelope, of which the following is a specification.

The object of the invention is to so fold a letter-blank and arrange it in its envelope that it may be readily utilized for the purpose of opening the said envelope when sealed; and it consists in the peculiar construction of the letter blank and envelope, as hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

Figure l is aview of an opentelegram-form made in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 shows the form after the first fold. Fig. 3 shows the form after the second fold. Fig. 4. shows the form after the third fold. Fig. 5 shows the blank inserted in the envelope, and the apex of the triangle being inserted through the opening. Fig. 6 is aview of the envelope folded, exposing the addressed side. Fig. 7 is a view of the opposite side of the envelope.

It will of course be seen that the object of my invention may be accomplished in other ways than the exact plan shown in the drawings-that is to say, the sheet may he so proportioned and folded that the apex of the trian gular] y-folded sheet maybe made to protrude through an opening made in the end of the envelope, through the back of the envelope, or on any of the other sides than the one shown; but for the purpose of this specification the form illustrated will be found sufficient.

In the telegram-form which I have chosen for the purpose of illustrating my invention, the portion marked A has an envelope formed on its back, the front being designed to re ceive the address, as indicated. The part marked 13 is the sheet upon which the message is written. I prefer to make the sheet B slightly narrower than the portion on which the envelope A is made; but I do not confine myself strictly to this reduction in width, although I consider it preferable.

Having written the address and message, I

first fold the sheet B as indicated in Fig. 2. I then fold the opposite side as indicated in Fig. 3, and finally fold it as indicated in Fig. 4, so that its apex a shall lie in the position indicated in Fig. 4. The sheet is then ready to be folded into the envelope, which is accomplished as indicated in Fig. 5, the apex abeing inserted through an opening made in the en velope, as indicated.

When it is desired to open the envelope, the apex a is drawn out, the sides of the triangle forming a paper-knife, which rapidly cuts through the envelope and permits the sheet to resume the position in which it is shown in Fig. 3, when it can be easily opened and the message read.

It will be noticed that the essence of my in vention consists in folding the paper so that the portion of it which is to protrude through an opening in the envelope shall be narrow and the folded side extend on an angle, so that when the protruding end is drawn out the folded side must act like a slanting knife to cut open the envelope, and it therefore follows that this effect will be produced, even though the apex were itself folded down. Consequently, while speaking of the apex at, I wish to refer to the narrow portion of the fold.

WVhat I claim as my invention is-- 1. A sheet of paper folded in the form of a triangle, in combination with an envelope to contain the said sheet when folded, and having an opening made in it through which the apex of the triangle protrudes, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. A sheet of paper connected to and forming part of an envelope and folded in the form of a triangle, in combination with the said envelope having an opening made in it through which the apex of the triangle protrudes, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

Toronto, March 14, 1887.

P. M. PnrLLlrs, CHARLES C. BALDWIN. 

